The Labor enquirer., 1887-06-18
WHITE SLAVES.
Miners Who Are Treated Much
Worse than Men Treat
Their Dogs.
Cut.Throat Leases and System Of
Organized Land Piracy at
Wilkesbarre.

A correspondent VI tho NOW AorA AA"
aid telegraphs from wilkesbarre, Pennsyl-
vania, as follows: Not one word sent out
concerning the condition Of the striking
miners at the Hazelbrook colliery OF b.
wentx 4 Co., their grievances and oppres-
sions, has been overdrawn.
To-day your correspondent spent some
hours among the miserable novels in
which are herded the men who work for
the company. In no other way can an
idea be gained of the condition TO which
these unfortunates have been reduced by
years Of systematic oppression.
The colliery is situated in the heart Of
the wilderness, some two miles from the
line of the Hazelton division Of the Lehigh
Valley railrHd. About 400 yards from
the colliery, scattered amid rocks and tree
stumps, stand collection Of shanties,
some twenty Ave in number, each contain
ing two rooms and little extension,
which answers the purpose Of a kitchen.
The houses are built Of rough hemlock
boards and are elevated some four feet
above the ground. In the floors and walls
are gaping cracks between the boards
through which you could thrust your head.
In these huts, with wind, rain and snow
driving through the crevices, the miners
and their families have to exist the year
round.
They have no option-for two miles in
every direction there are no other houses.
The company, though it does not own the
land, controls il under lease. They will
not release one foot Of it, and, even had
the poor miner the means, he is given no
chance Of making himself better home.
Yet the company has taken effective
means to prevent him ever getting the
means 10 live better where he is or move
to better places. The iniquitous COM
pany-store system, the evils of which were
so glaring that the Legislature of Pennsyl-
vania forbade il under heavy penalty, is in
vogue here in its worst and most oppres-
sive form. The cor pany have established
store at which they claim to sell every
thing needed, and have issued their fiat
that the men must trade nowhere else.
They have also effectually taken it out
Of the power Of the men to go elsewhere if
they wished. Completely controlling the
land, they have forbidden any other mer-
chant or dealer to come ON the ground
andAif the men purchase goods elsewhere
they cannot have them delivered. There
is no public road through the land, and
several merchants in Freeland and other
neighboring towns who sought to sell their
goods TO the miners have been warned,
under penalty of arrest for trespass, not
10 venture on the company's land.
The company thus enjoy a perfect mo-
nopoly of the trade, and can extort what
they please. They charge fully 20 per
cent more than the regular rate for all
goods sold, and-in direct violation of
the law of the state-deduct the bills from
the miners pay,
Besides the deductions for store sup
plies the miners rent, his powder, oil, coal,
use Of team to haul the cool, his board, If
fpf,a single man, and even the charges
n Aspriest and doctor, (who are paid
bat 0x by the company to look after the
spiritual snd physical welfare of the mem,
are deducted from the miners pay. No
IeytS SAYbpuch man may earn in a
month the deductions invariably amount
to as much IN more than his wages, and it
u an sctu6l fact that out of fourteen men
Spoken to by your correspondent not one
h9A received cent of money for nine
Hont af0Ix6kesJkAed, except one, who
h fqy ydlysase received $3.50.
UuS%privsd Of everything but the ne
Ac$SS<kst AACdMaiAo enable them
Condition, Whit are the men
S&s9heS can do nothing but submit
<bassefulk system Of oppression.
ss:ssss!Si,% Ss q ''sS;SMaS 1iss,. sss '1%, T1s
&gsSsYr,sS& " pressure possible
= S& ynovSSbe &alia1 a8fac-
s<eseT i getting h1S q withdraw, The
>ens6ef, Ffsk& skTe, rstassa. 20 leave
ths'o.der &s ssho& aftsSkas discharged,
Stensfsly for nSSigenSS The men be-
SSiieved he mad 0sen sctimizsd and de-
manded his reinssases$snt. This was re-
fuseSand strike foffsyedy
E. Neethe company FScssded to SHOW
sShGxSoysr. Miserah, as afs>th<SSts
SNcs men liysshey can only gain
81 rSAssS occQSy thsA$by sis,iSs
: l&S FplsossAemS SsSSsd thS'pap
81 ~ feScvSqS 81 S!sss ikh-cled
;aSeysgk .$&sSSSeS .rsyaoyou
go SSszsHzZSyZ